Right angle electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A right angle electrical connector for connecting in electrical circuit relationship a printed circuit board to a tape cable. The connector contains a plurality of electrical contacts that are retained within the connector by the resilient action of the contact acting against an inside wall of the connector.

United States Patent 1191 Michel et al. 1 1 Feb. 6, 1973 [541 RIGHTANGLE ELECTRICAL 3,395,377 7/1968 Straus 339/17 LM CONNECTOR 3,026,494 31962 Anderson 61.31 .339 252 R 2,944,121 7/1960 Wasylenko ..339/17 LMInventors: Donald Michel; Le y Falr- 3,551,750 12/1970 Sterling.......339/176 M bairn; James W. Cook, all of Sidney, 3,631,380 12/1971Bohn "339/156 R N.Y.

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assignee: The Bendix Corporation1,392,897 2 1965 France ..339 217 3 [22] Filed: Sept. 28, 1971 OTHERPUBLICATIONS [2]] Appl. No.: 184,380

| [52] US. Cl. ..339/l56 R, 339/17 LM, 339/217 S,

[51] Int. Cl. ..H01r 13/50, H0514 H07 [58] Field of Search..339/l7 F, 17L, 17 LC, 17 LM, 339/176 M, 176 MF,176 MP, 156, 252 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,215,968 11/1965 Herrmann..339/176 MP X 3,270,311 8/1966 Deer et a1. ..339/176 MP X 3,475,65710/1969 Knowles ..339/176 MP X 3,150,909 9/1964 Deverell ..339/17 FBecon Connector, Brown Engineering Co., Inc., 12-1961 PrimaryExaminer-Ernest R. Purser Assistant Examiner-Lawrence J. StaabAttorneyRaymond J. Eifler et all.

1 [57] ABSTRACT A right angle electrical connector for connecting inelectrical circuit relationship a printed circuit board to a tape cable.The connector contains a plurality of electrical contacts that areretained within the connector by the resilient action of the contactacting against an inside wall of the connector.

14 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB SE75 Y 3.715.706

SHEET 10F 2 22 FIGUREI DONALD EQMIH L' LE w. FAI RN w. COOK v FIGURESINVENTORJ' PATENTEDFEB 6 I975 SHEET 2 OF 2 FIGURE 4 FIGURE 6 1 RIGHTANGLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to a right angle electrical connector for connecting togetherprinted circuit boards and/or tape cables. The connector is of the typethat does not require any permanent attachments such as solder, welds,or crimps, to connect the tape cable and/or circuit board together.

Solderless connections between multi-conductor flat cables and/orcircuit boards is well known in the art and descriptions of suchsolderless connections can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,089,l14 and3,088,090 to J. C. Cole et al. entitled Electrical Connector and U.S.Pat. No. 3,004,237 to J. C. Cole et al. entitled Electrical Connectorfor Multi-Conductor Cables. These prior art patents include complicatedassemblies that have complex electrical contacts for completingelectrical circuits between the two cables, and, in one instance,require a male and female portion, each of which is attached to adifferent tape cable and/or circuit board and a connecting portion toconnect the male and female portions together. Other prior art tapeconnectors include sharp pointed contacts that are forced through theinsulation and the conductors of the cable or circuit board, stressingthe metal and providing permanent electrical contact. Both tape cablesand circuit boards generally include large numbers of very smallconductors and it is important, when interconnecting the tapes and/orboards, that exact alignment of the conductors be achieved with thecontacts of the connecting device. Alignment is generally achieved bymeans of spaced apertures in the connector body that containcorresponding contacts. Characteristic of most prior art connectors fortape cables are complex electrical contacts in the form of ramps and/orfingers made of springy material which maintain substantial restorativeresilience when fully engaged with the cable or circuit board. Byrestorative resilience is meant the tendency to restore, to at least anappreciable degree the original unbent shape of the part. The presenttypes of electrical contacts are expensive to make and difficult toassemble into the connector.

The present invention avoids the problems of the prior art and presentsa simple right angle electrical connector that establishes exactalignment between a tape cable and circuit board and good circuitrelationship therebetween.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a right angle connectorof simple construction that is useful in connecting together printedcircuit boards and tape cables.

The invention is a right angle electrical connector 1 that ischaracterized by a plurality of resilient V-shaped first and secondsides of the housing for receiving end portions of an electricalcontact; a plurality of electri cal contacts mounted in the housingslots, each of the contacts extending beyond the first and second sidesof the housing so that they may come into contact with the conductors ofthe tape cable and/or circuit board, each of the electrical contacts iscomprised of a resilient member that includes a first leg and a secondleg resiliently connected to the first leg and defining a marked angletherebetween, the first and second legs each including a raised portionextending in a direction away from the marked angle between the legs,and

each of the contacts retained in one of the slots by the I resilientaction of the legs which force the free end portions of the legs inpressure contact with the inner walls of the slots whereby theelectrical contact is retained within the connector; means for mountingand positioning thev tape cable on the first side so that each of theconductors of the tape cable is in contact with one of the contactsmounted in the housing slots; and means for mounting and positioning thecircuit board on the second side so that each of the circuit boardinputs is in contact with one of the contacts mounted in the housingwhereby the circuit board is connected in electrical circuitrelationship to the tape cable.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedtype of right angle electrical connector for connecting together acircuit board and a tape cable.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved type ofright angle electrical connector without it acquiring any permanentattachments such as solder, a weld,-or a crimp. v

It is still another object of this invention to provide an inexpensiveand easily manufactured tape connector.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a simpleelectrical contact that is retained in a molded housing by therestorative resilience of the contact acting against the inner walls ofthe housing.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an electricalcontact that is inexpensive to make and assemble into a connectorwithout requiring the useof special tools.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings and claims which form a part of thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of an electricalcontact that is utilized in the preferred embodiment of the electricalconnector.

FIG. 2 is an exploded diagrammatic view of a preferred embodiment of anelectrical connector utilizing the contact shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector taken alonglines III-III.

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are cross-sectional views illustrating alternateembodiments of the electrical contact.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the drawings, FIG.1 illustrates an electrical contact that is utilized in the preferredembodiment of the electrical connector. The electrical contact iscomprised of an electrically conducting material and in the preferredembodiment, it is comprised of a flat strip of beryllium copper alloybent to shape so that the contact is resilient. The contact is in theshape of an open V-formed by a first leg and a second leg 20 with amarked angle A therebetween. The electrical contact is fabricated from aresilient material so that when a force is applied to the legs 10, 20reducing the marked angle A, the restorative resilient action of thelegs 10, 20 return them to their original position when the force isremoved. Similarly, each leg has a resilient arm attached thereto, 11,21. Each of the arms 11, 21 terminates in a raised portion 12, 22, thatextends away from the marked angle A. The raised portions 12, 22 of thecontact are those portions of the contact 1 that will eventually comeinto contact with other electrical conducting surfaces. It can bereadily appreciated from the drawing that the angles formed between thelegs and between the legs and arms combined with the fact that thecontact is made from spring-like material added to the restorativeforces that would act upon the legs 10, 20 or arms 11, 12, 21 22 toreturn them to their original position when a force that has moved themis removed.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the right angle connector incorporatingthe contact shown in FIG. 1. The electrical connector, except for theelectrical contacts 1, is comprised of an electrically insulatingmaterial such as a molded resin and includes a housing 50, a base plate40, and a plurality of electrical contacts 1. The housing 50 includesmeans for receiving and retaining a printed circuit board 60 and thebase plate 40 includes means for receiving and retaining a tape cable70.

The tape cable 70 has a plurality of thin-ribbon like conducting strips71 which are sealed in spaced parallel relationship between upper andlower electrical insulating layers of material bonded to each other toform an insulating body. The illustrative cable shown in only one ofmany types and may, for example, be obtained from the Tape CableCompany, Rochester, New York. The conductors 71 are generally made ofthin copper strips and the body is generally made of clear, transparentthermaplastic material such as polyester resin. The circuit board 60 iscomprised of a nonconducting material having an electrical circuitthereon and a plurality of inputs thereon (not shown) arranged in thesame spaced relationship as the conductors 71 of the tape cable.Therefore, when the circuit board 60 is mounted on the housing 50, thecircuit board inputs (not shown) will be connected in circuitrelationship with the contacts 1. Similarly, when the tape cable 70 ismounted on the connector housing 50, the conductors 71 will be inelectrical circuit relationship with the contacts l.

The bolt 61 and holes (not shown) in the circuit board and housing 50function to fasten and align the circuit board so that the contacts 1will contact the inputs (not shown) of the circuit board 60.

The holes 44, 54, alignment peg 42, and groove 43 function to fasten andalign the tape cable so that the leg portions (not shown) of thecontacts 1 will contact the conductors 71 of the tape cable 70.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the preferredembodiment of the right angle connector with the circuit board 60 andthe tape cable 70 mounted thereto. This view shows how the electricalcontact 1 connects the inputs 63 of the circuit board 60 in electricalcircuit relationship with the conductors 71 of the tape cable 70. Theconnector housing 50 includes a plurality of slots 52 for receivingelectrical contacts 1. Each of the slots 52 extend from one side of thehousing to an adjacent side and includes end portions defining cavitiesor grooves 51, 53 beneath the two sides to which the slot extends. It isthe purpose of these grooves to receive a portion of the legs 10, 20 andarms 11, 21 of the electrical contact 1. The contact 1 is retained inthe position shown by the restorative resilience of the contact 1 whichforces the arms 1 l and 21 into pressure contact with the walls of thegrooves 51, 53. The simplicity of construction and fabrication of thisconnector is readily apparent from this view. The contact 1 isoriginally placed into the slot by merely compressing the two legs 10and 20 to an angle of about or less and placing the contact 1 into .theslot 52 with the end portions in the grooves 51 and 53 and then removingthe compressive force so that the contact 1, in attempting to return toits original shape, will be retained in the groove 52 by action of thearms 11 and 21 in pressure contact with the walls 51 and 53.

FIG. 4 is another preferred embodiment of the contact 1 that can beutilized within the connector housing 50. In this embodiment, it is alsothe restorative resilience of the contact that retains the contactwithin the housing 50.v The contact includes a first leg 10 and a secondleg 20 having connected thereto a first arm 11 and a second arm 21respectively. Each of the arms terminates in a finger-like end portion12 and 22, the function of which is to come into contact with the inputs(not shown) of the circuit board 60 and the conductors 71 of the tapecable (not shown). When the circuit board 60 is mounted on the housing50, the end portion 12 of the contact and/or leg 10 will be depressedinto the housing slot 52 but the end portion 12 will remain in contactwith the inputs of the circuit board and upon removal of the circuitboard 60 the end portion 12 will extend from the housing 50 as a resultof the restorative resilience of the contact.

FIG. 5 shows still another preferred embodiment of the electricalcontact that is retained in the connector housing 50 by the resilientaction of the legs 10, 20. In this embodiment, the contacts includeraised end portions 12 and 22 for contacting conducting surfaces. It ispreferred that the raised end portions 12, 22 be curved so as to presenta smooth surface that will not scratch or catch the conductors that areto contact them.

FIG. 6 is still another embodiment of an electrical contact that isretained in the connector housing 50 by the resilient act of the legs 10and 20. In this embodiment, the contact is comprised of the first leg 10resiliently connected to a second leg 20 and defining a marked angle Atherebetween. Each of the legs 10, 20 includes a raised portion 12, 22that will extend beyond the sides of the connector housing 50, and anarm 11, 21 that extends away from the marked angle A. Before the contactis placed in the housing 50 the marked angle A would be greater than 90so that when the contact is confined to the slot 52, the restorativedislodged from its retained position within the housing.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made tothe invention as set forth in the appended claims, and, in some cases,certain features of the invention may be used to advantage withoutcorresponding use of other features. For example, the principlesdisclosed herein, could also be used to connect a printed circuit boardto a printed circuit board, tape cable to tape cable, microcircuit tomicrocircuit or any combinations of the above. Accordingly, it isintended that the illustrative and descriptive materials herein be usedto illustrate the principles of the invention and not to limit the scopethereof.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1 In combination with an electrical connector of the type having ahousing and a plurality of electrical contact receiving slots thatextend from a first side of said housing to a second adjacent side ofsaid housing, each of said slots having end portions defining a groovebeneath said first and second sides of said housing for receiving endportions of said electrical contact, said electrical contact comprising:

a second leg resiliently connected to and angularly spaced from saidfirst leg by a marked angle therebetween greater than 90 but less than180 when said contact is not in said slot, said first and second legseach including an arm resiliently attached thereto that includes an endretention portion and a contact portion, said arms extending from saidlegs in a direction away from the space between said legs defining saidmarked angle and towards the apex of said marked angle so that when aforce is applied to said legs that reduces the marked angle and saidcontact is placed in said slots in said connector with the retention endportions of said contact said first and second sides in said groovebeneath said second side of said housing and the force is removed fromsaid legs, said retention end portions of said arms are in pressurecontact with the walls of said grooves whereby said electrical contactis retained in said connector.

2. An electrical connector for connecting in electrical circuitrelationship a tape cable to a circuit board, said tape cable being inthe form of an insulating tape having a plurality of generally parallelconductors therein arranged in a predetermined spaced relationship, theconductors of the tape being bared at one end of the cable and saidcircuit board being in the form of an insulating board having anelectrical circuit thereon which includes a plurality of electricalinputs in the form of a plurality of conducting paths arranged ingenerally parallel and spaced relationship along one side of said board,the electrical connector comprising:

a housing having a first side, a. second side adjacent to said firstside and a plurality of slots arranged in the same spaced relationshipas the conductors of said tape cable, said slots extending between saidfirst and second sides, each of said slots having end portions defininga groove beneath said first and second sides of said housing forreceiving end portions of an electrical contact:

a plurality of electrical contacts mounted in said housing slots, eachof said contacts extending beyond the first and second sides of saidhousing, each of said electrical contacts comprising:

a first leg;

a second leg resiliently connected to and angularly spaced from saidfirst leg by an angle of about said first and second legs each includingan arm resiliently attached thereto that includes an end retentionportion and a contact portion, said arms extending from said legs in adirection away from the space between said legs defining said angle andtowards the apex of said marked angle, and each of said contactsretained in one of said slots by the resilient action of the legs whichforce said retention end portions of said arms in a direction away fromsaid angle and in pressure contact with the walls of said groove wherebysaid electrical contact is retained in said connector;

means for mounting and positioning said tape cable on said first side sothat each of said conductors of said tape cable is in contact with oneof said contacts mounted in said housing slots; and

means for mounting and positioning said circuit board on said secondside so that each of saidcircuit board inputs is in contact with one ofsaid contacts mounted in said housing slots whereby said circuit boardis connected in electrical circuit relationship to said tape cable. 1

3. The combination recited in claim 2 wherein said means for mountingand positioning said tape cable comprises: i

a base having a groove therein for receiving and positioning the baredend of said tape cable; and

means for mounting and positioning said base on said housing so thateach of said conducting strips of said tape cable is in contact with oneof said con tacts mounted in said housing slots.

4. An electrical connector for connecting in electrical circuitrelationship a tape cable to a circuit board, said tape cable being inthe form of an insulating tape having a plurality of generally parallelconductors therein arranged in a predetermined spaced relationship, theconductors of the tape being bared at one end of the cable and saidcircuit board being in the form of an insulating board having anelectrical circuit thereon which includes a plurality of electricalinputs in the form of a plurality of conducting paths arranged ingenerally parallel and spaced relationship along one side of said board,said electrical connector comprising:

a housing having a first side, a second side and a plurality of slotsarranged in the same spaced relationship as the conductors of said tapecable, said slots extending between said first and second sides, each ofsaid slots having end portions defining a groove beneath said first andsecond sides of said housing for receiving end portions of an electricalcontact;

a plurality of electrical contacts mounted in said housing slots, eachof said contacts extending beyond the first and second sides of saidhousing, each of said contacts comprising:

a first leg;

a second leg resiliently connected to and angularly spaced from saidfirst leg by an angle of about 90, said first and second legs eachhaving a free end and a raised portion, said free ends and said raisedportions extending from said legs in a direction away from the spacebetween said legs defining said angle, and each of said contactsretained in one of said slots by the resilient action of the legs whichforce said free end portions of said legs in a direction away from thespace between said legs defining said angle and in pressure contact withthe walls of said groove whereby said electrical contact is retained insaid connector;

means for mounting and positioning said tape cable on said first side sothat each of said conductors of said tape cable is in contact with oneof said contacts mounted in said housing slots; and

means for mounting and positioning said circuit board on said secondside so that each of said circuit board inputs is in contact with one ofsaid contacts mounted in said housing slots whereby said circuit boardis connected in electrical circuit relationship to said tape cable.

5. The combination as recited in claim 4 wherein said means for mountingand positioning said tape cable comprises:

a base having a groove therein for receiving and positioning the baredend of said tape cable; and

means for mounting and positioning said base on said housing so thateach of said conducting strips of said tape cable is in contact with oneof said contacts mounted in said housing slots.

6. In combination with an electrical connector of the type having aplurality of resilient electrical contacts retained in slots in saidelectrical connector by the resilient action of said contact, each ofsaid slots including end portions defining a groove beneath a first andsecond side of said connector, the improvement wherein said resilientcontact comprises:

a member having a first leg resiliently connected to and angularlyspaced from a second leg by an angle of about 90;

a first arm resiliently connected to the end of said first leg of saidmember, said first arm adjacent the first leg of said member andextending in a direction away from the space between said legs definingsaid angle, said first arm having a portion in pressure contact withsaid groove in said first side of said connector; and

a second arm resiliently connected to the end of said second leg of saidmember, and said second arm adjacent said second leg of said member andextending in a direction away from the space between said leg definingsaid angle, said second arm having a portion in pressure contact withsaid groove in said second side of said connector, whereby said contactis retained in said slot in said connector.

7. The combination as recited in claim 6 wherein said first and secondarms each include a raised portion that extends in a direction away fromsaid the space between said legs defining said angle and beyond therespective side of the connector.

8. The combination as recited in claim 6 wherein said first arm includesa portion, extending from the resilient connection to said first leg,that is generally parallel to said first leg; and said second armincludes a portion, extending from the resilient connection to saidsecond leg, that is generally parallel to said second leg.

9. The combination as recited in claim 1 wherein said first arm includesa portion, extending from the resilient connection to said first leg,that is generally parallel to said first leg; and said second armincludes a portion extending from the resilient connection to saidsecond leg, that is generally parallel to said second leg.

10. The combination as recited in claim 8 wherein the marked anglebetween said first and second leg is greater than when said contact isnot in said slot so that when a force is applied to said legs thatreduces the marked angle and said contact is placed in said slot in saidconnector and the force is removed said portions of said arms parallelto said legs are in pressure contact with the walls of said groovewhereby said electrical contact is retained in said connector.

11. The combination as recited in claim 9 wherein the marked anglebetween said first and second leg is greater than 90 when said contactis not in said slot so that when a force is applied to said legs thatreduces the marked angle and said contact is placed in the slot in saidconnector and the force is removed said portions of said arms parallelto said legs are in pressure contact with the walls of said groovewhereby said electrical contact is retained in said connector.

12. An electrical contact comprising:

an electrical conducting member having a first leg resiliently connectedto a second leg which is angularly spaced from said first leg by amarked angle greater than 90 but less than a first ann resilientlyconnected to the end of said first leg of said member, said first armextending outside said space between said legs that define said markedangle and adjacent said first leg, said first arm including a raisedportion extending away from said first leg and outside said spacebetween said first and second legs that define said marked angle; and

a second arm resiliently connected to the end of said second leg of saidmember, said second. arm extending outside said space between said legsthat define said marked angle and adjacent said second leg, said secondarm including a raised portion extending away from said second leg andoutside said space between said first and second legs that defines saidmarked angle, whereby when a force moves one of said arms or legs fromits original position, the resilient action of the contact returns saidarm or leg to its original position when said force is removed.

13. The electrical contact as recited in claim 12 wherein said first armincludes a portion, extending from the resilient connection to saidfirst leg, that is generally parallel to said first leg; and said secondarm includes a portion extending from the resilient connec- 9 10 tion tosaid second leg, that is generally parallel to said an arm on-each endof said legs that extends outside Second leg. said space between saidlegs that define said 14. An electrical contact comprising:

a first leg;

at second le resilientl connected to and an ularl 5 spaced frgom said gleg by a markedganglz outside said space between said legs defining saidgreater than 90 but less than 180, said first and marked angle secondlegs including a:

marked angle, each of said legs further including a raised portion thatextends away from said legs and v

1. In combination with an electrical connector of the type haviNg ahousing and a plurality of electrical contact receiving slots thatextend from a first side of said housing to a second adjacent side ofsaid housing, each of said slots having end portions defining a groovebeneath said first and second sides of said housing for receiving endportions of said electrical contact, said electrical contact comprising:a first leg; a second leg resiliently connected to and angularly spacedfrom said first leg by a marked angle therebetween greater than 90* butless than 180* when said contact is not in said slot, said first andsecond legs each including an arm resiliently attached thereto thatincludes an end retention portion and a contact portion, said armsextending from said legs in a direction away from the space between saidlegs defining said marked angle and towards the apex of said markedangle so that when a force is applied to said legs that reduces themarked angle and said contact is placed in said slots in said connectorwith the retention end portions of said contact said first and secondsides in said groove beneath said second side of said housing and theforce is removed from said legs, said retention end portions of saidarms are in pressure contact with the walls of said grooves whereby saidelectrical contact is retained in said connector.
 1. In combination withan electrical connector of the type haviNg a housing and a plurality ofelectrical contact receiving slots that extend from a first side of saidhousing to a second adjacent side of said housing, each of said slotshaving end portions defining a groove beneath said first and secondsides of said housing for receiving end portions of said electricalcontact, said electrical contact comprising: a first leg; a second legresiliently connected to and angularly spaced from said first leg by amarked angle therebetween greater than 90* but less than 180* when saidcontact is not in said slot, said first and second legs each includingan arm resiliently attached thereto that includes an end retentionportion and a contact portion, said arms extending from said legs in adirection away from the space between said legs defining said markedangle and towards the apex of said marked angle so that when a force isapplied to said legs that reduces the marked angle and said contact isplaced in said slots in said connector with the retention end portionsof said contact said first and second sides in said groove beneath saidsecond side of said housing and the force is removed from said legs,said retention end portions of said arms are in pressure contact withthe walls of said grooves whereby said electrical contact is retained insaid connector.
 2. An electrical connector for connecting in electricalcircuit relationship a tape cable to a circuit board, said tape cablebeing in the form of an insulating tape having a plurality of generallyparallel conductors therein arranged in a predetermined spacedrelationship, the conductors of the tape being bared at one end of thecable and said circuit board being in the form of an insulating boardhaving an electrical circuit thereon which includes a plurality ofelectrical inputs in the form of a plurality of conducting pathsarranged in generally parallel and spaced relationship along one side ofsaid board, the electrical connector comprising: a housing having afirst side, a second side adjacent to said first side and a plurality ofslots arranged in the same spaced relationship as the conductors of saidtape cable, said slots extending between said first and second sides,each of said slots having end portions defining a groove beneath saidfirst and second sides of said housing for receiving end portions of anelectrical contact: a plurality of electrical contacts mounted in saidhousing slots, each of said contacts extending beyond the first andsecond sides of said housing, each of said electrical contactscomprising: a first leg; a second leg resiliently connected to andangularly spaced from said first leg by an angle of about 90* said firstand second legs each including an arm resiliently attached thereto thatincludes an end retention portion and a contact portion, said armsextending from said legs in a direction away from the space between saidlegs defining said angle and towards the apex of said marked angle, andeach of said contacts retained in one of said slots by the resilientaction of the legs which force said retention end portions of said armsin a direction away from said angle and in pressure contact with thewalls of said groove whereby said electrical contact is retained in saidconnector; means for mounting and positioning said tape cable on saidfirst side so that each of said conductors of said tape cable is incontact with one of said contacts mounted in said housing slots; andmeans for mounting and positioning said circuit board on said secondside so that each of said circuit board inputs is in contact with one ofsaid contacts mounted in said housing slots whereby said circuit boardis connected in electrical circuit relationship to said tape cable. 3.The combination recited in claim 2 wherein said means for mounting andpositioning said tape cable comprises: a base having a groove thereinfor receiving and positioning the bared end of said tape cable; andmeAns for mounting and positioning said base on said housing so thateach of said conducting strips of said tape cable is in contact with oneof said contacts mounted in said housing slots.
 4. An electricalconnector for connecting in electrical circuit relationship a tape cableto a circuit board, said tape cable being in the form of an insulatingtape having a plurality of generally parallel conductors thereinarranged in a predetermined spaced relationship, the conductors of thetape being bared at one end of the cable and said circuit board being inthe form of an insulating board having an electrical circuit thereonwhich includes a plurality of electrical inputs in the form of aplurality of conducting paths arranged in generally parallel and spacedrelationship along one side of said board, said electrical connectorcomprising: a housing having a first side, a second side and a pluralityof slots arranged in the same spaced relationship as the conductors ofsaid tape cable, said slots extending between said first and secondsides, each of said slots having end portions defining a groove beneathsaid first and second sides of said housing for receiving end portionsof an electrical contact; a plurality of electrical contacts mounted insaid housing slots, each of said contacts extending beyond the first andsecond sides of said housing, each of said contacts comprising: a firstleg; a second leg resiliently connected to and angularly spaced fromsaid first leg by an angle of about 90*, said first and second legs eachhaving a free end and a raised portion, said free ends and said raisedportions extending from said legs in a direction away from the spacebetween said legs defining said angle, and each of said contactsretained in one of said slots by the resilient action of the legs whichforce said free end portions of said legs in a direction away from thespace between said legs defining said angle and in pressure contact withthe walls of said groove whereby said electrical contact is retained insaid connector; means for mounting and positioning said tape cable onsaid first side so that each of said conductors of said tape cable is incontact with one of said contacts mounted in said housing slots; andmeans for mounting and positioning said circuit board on said secondside so that each of said circuit board inputs is in contact with one ofsaid contacts mounted in said housing slots whereby said circuit boardis connected in electrical circuit relationship to said tape cable. 5.The combination as recited in claim 4 wherein said means for mountingand positioning said tape cable comprises: a base having a groovetherein for receiving and positioning the bared end of said tape cable;and means for mounting and positioning said base on said housing so thateach of said conducting strips of said tape cable is in contact with oneof said contacts mounted in said housing slots.
 6. In combination withan electrical connector of the type having a plurality of resilientelectrical contacts retained in slots in said electrical connector bythe resilient action of said contact, each of said slots including endportions defining a groove beneath a first and second side of saidconnector, the improvement wherein said resilient contact comprises: amember having a first leg resiliently connected to and angularly spacedfrom a second leg by an angle of about 90*; a first arm resilientlyconnected to the end of said first leg of said member, said first armadjacent the first leg of said member and extending in a direction awayfrom the space between said legs defining said angle, said first armhaving a portion in pressure contact with said groove in said first sideof said connector; and a second arm resiliently connected to the end ofsaid second leg of said member, and said second arm adjacent said secondleg of said member and extending in a direction away from the spacebetween said leg definIng said angle, said second arm having a portionin pressure contact with said groove in said second side of saidconnector, whereby said contact is retained in said slot in saidconnector.
 7. The combination as recited in claim 6 wherein said firstand second arms each include a raised portion that extends in adirection away from said the space between said legs defining said angleand beyond the respective side of the connector.
 8. The combination asrecited in claim 6 wherein said first arm includes a portion, extendingfrom the resilient connection to said first leg, that is generallyparallel to said first leg; and said second arm includes a portion,extending from the resilient connection to said second leg, that isgenerally parallel to said second leg.
 9. The combination as recited inclaim 1 wherein said first arm includes a portion, extending from theresilient connection to said first leg, that is generally parallel tosaid first leg; and said second arm includes a portion extending fromthe resilient connection to said second leg, that is generally parallelto said second leg.
 10. The combination as recited in claim 8 whereinthe marked angle between said first and second leg is greater than 90*when said contact is not in said slot so that when a force is applied tosaid legs that reduces the marked angle and said contact is placed insaid slot in said connector and the force is removed said portions ofsaid arms parallel to said legs are in pressure contact with the wallsof said groove whereby said electrical contact is retained in saidconnector.
 11. The combination as recited in claim 9 wherein the markedangle between said first and second leg is greater than 90* when saidcontact is not in said slot so that when a force is applied to said legsthat reduces the marked angle and said contact is placed in the slot insaid connector and the force is removed said portions of said armsparallel to said legs are in pressure contact with the walls of saidgroove whereby said electrical contact is retained in said connector.12. An electrical contact comprising: an electrical conducting memberhaving a first leg resiliently connected to a second leg which isangularly spaced from said first leg by a marked angle greater than 90*but less than 180*. a first arm resiliently connected to the end of saidfirst leg of said member, said first arm extending outside said spacebetween said legs that define said marked angle and adjacent said firstleg, said first arm including a raised portion extending away from saidfirst leg and outside said space between said first and second legs thatdefine said marked angle; and a second arm resiliently connected to theend of said second leg of said member, said second arm extending outsidesaid space between said legs that define said marked angle and adjacentsaid second leg, said second arm including a raised portion extendingaway from said second leg and outside said space between said first andsecond legs that defines said marked angle, whereby when a force movesone of said arms or legs from its original position, the resilientaction of the contact returns said arm or leg to its original positionwhen said force is removed.
 13. The electrical contact as recited inclaim 12 wherein said first arm includes a portion, extending from theresilient connection to said first leg, that is generally parallel tosaid first leg; and said second arm includes a portion extending fromthe resilient connection to said second leg, that is generally parallelto said second leg.